Everyday 3,000 children start smoking, most of them among the ages of 10 and 18. These kids account for 90 percent of all new smokers. In fact, 90 percent of all adult smokers said that they first lit up as teenagers. These statistics clearly demonstrate that young people are the prime target in the tobacco wars. Cigarette manufacturers may deny it, but advertising and promotion play an essential part in making these facts a reality. They publicize where minors are able to view it consequently persuading them to purchase cigarettes. Therefore, tobacco advertisements should be restricted to adult areas only.
             Children, as young as 2, have almost certainly seen tobacco advertisements. Research proves that 6 year olds recognize Joe Camel as much as Mickey Mouse. Promoting on billboards, market windows (mostly liquor stores), and television commercials, kids are most likely to view those advertisements. Teen related magazines, like the Rolling Stone and Spin, feature their profitable advertisements. An American Medical Association spokesman remarks, "To kids, cute cartoon characters mean that the product is harmless. They have to know that their ads are influencing the youth under 18 to begin smoking."
             The children knowing that the tobacco publicity is manipulating them, it crosses people's mind the issue of why children do them. Smoking to a young person, between childhood and adolescence, offers them their needs and desires. U.S. News recently featured a discussion of the smoking issue with 20 teenagers consisting of the same amount of boys and girls between the ages of 15 and 17. When asked why they started smoking, they gave two widespread reasons. One, they wanted to be part of a peer group. "When you party, 75%-90% of the kids are smoking. It makes you feel like you belong," says Devon Harris, a high school senior. Two, they sought to reach out and rebel at the same time, tending to think of smoking as...